


Rough Patch

by Collectible



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Bullying, Childhood, Gen, Not Beta Read, Present Tense, enstars secret santa 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:34:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22042624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Collectible/pseuds/Collectible
Summary: Everyone goes through bad days, but some aren't so bad when someone's there with you.
Relationships: Itsuki Shuu & Kiryuu Kurou
Kudos: 14





	Rough Patch

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is an enstsanta2019's SS gift for shiny_lawyer over on twitter! I wanted to try writing two characters I haven't before, and went for Kuro/Shu...! As such, please pardon me if characterization seems off! m(_ _)m 
> 
> It isn't directly romantic, but I hope it still fits;;; Please enjoy!

Half an hour ago, Kuro received a call from his friend to meet him in the park closest to their homes.

Now he’s there, crossing under the park entrance, and the scene that greets Kuro is quick to have him rushing forward in a panic.

His target is a small gaggle of children struggling to cage something in-between them. Kuro recognizes them at once; the group is an annoying bunch of brats he often comes in contact with in the neighborhood. They’ve never messed with him much, too used to Kuro ignoring them or punching his way through their attempts. 

Unfortunately, his friends are still on the table.

As Kuro sprints closer, the taunts and jeers emanating from the crowd become loud enough to hear. He processes the words, which sends anger burning throughout his chest like a forest fire.

Same as all those other times, a tinier, sharper voice rings out like a whistle. “Release her...!”

“Look at him!” A mocking laugh erupts from the leader of the gang. Takashi something-something--Kuro has little interest in learning his full name. “He’s trying so hard--you can’t actually want to play with this stupid doll, right? It’s a _doll_ , for _girls_. Are you a girl, Itsuki?”

“Q-quiet! You’re going to rip--”

“--Rip? If you say so!”

Despite how fast Kuro runs, pumping his legs to reach them before anything worse occurs, the sharp rip of cloth tearing and Itsuki’s horrified gasp tells him he’s way too late.

Regret rises in him, on par with the anger. Kuro barks, “Hey! Get away from him!”

Some of the kids startle at his voice and step aside to reveal their person of torment. Kuro has long acknowledged the kid to be Itsuki Shu, but knowing and seeing are two different realities. Crumpled on the ground, Itsuki's expression warps with grief and colors red with rage. Kuro isn’t able to see what has him so heartbroken, but it doesn’t matter--whatever it is, it’s important

Takashi doesn’t follow the lead of his fellow members. Seeing Kuro race up to meet him, he grins smugly and shoves whatever he has in his hand into his pocket. “Looks like your _boyfriend_ ’s here, Itsuki. You’re gonna let Kiryuu keep helping you like this? You really are a girl!”

It isn’t Kuro’s fault if he goes right up to him and slings him right across the face. So he does exactly that.

Takashi releases a cry of pain as he stumbles from the two of them. His left cheek flushes red after the hit, a bright mark against his pasty pale skin. 

“You don’t know when to cut it out.” Kuro's fists are still raised, prepared to dole out more punishment. Itsuki gasps quietly behind his back, as soft as a whimper. “I told you not to mess with him anymore. If you want a fight, come to me. I can take you.”

“You aren’t tough…!” Despite the taunt, Takashi and his irritating goons back away with each second. “And you can’t keep protecting him forever!”

Whatever. Kuro glowers at them until he no longer has to worry about their presence. 

Jerks. What do they get out of bothering someone who isn’t doing anything?

“... Sorry, Icchan,” he mutters. “I took too long.”

Kuro expects a snapping retort filled with anger. When he hears nothing but the same heavy breathing over and over again, as if Itsuki is holding back tears, Kuro turns around.

Itsuki holds an antique doll in his tiny hands. He recognizes her immediately--a marble-white and fair-haired doll by the name of Mademoiselle. A foreign title for a respectable woman, or so Itsuki had informed in the past. Itsuki had begun to carry her around everywhere, an action leading to renewed interest from the bullies Kuro had shooed off.

After a closer examination, Kuro searches for what has Itsuki so shell-shocked in the first place. Mademoiselle isn’t broken or cracked despite a few dirty smudges on her face. He follows where Itsuki’s hands tightly hold the sides of her small form. His fingers clutch at the cloth, wrinkling Mademoiselle’s prim outfit, and Kuro then sees the obvious tear staining the front of her dress.

“He ripped her dress?” Kuro frowns. He should have given the brat a real fight. To run off nearly scratch-free after doing something like this… Darn it, hadn’t he promised to protect Itsuki? “I’m sorry, Icchan. If I were faster--”

To his shock, he’s cut off. “Enough.”

“Icchan?”

Having been leaning over his doll, it’s a tad surprising when Itsuki sits straight up. He's slow to dissolve the remnants of emotion Kuro had seen, the extreme sadness and anger. Kuro isn’t focused on that, though. What has his attention is the same smudges on his face, plus a few bright red scratches indicating where they’ve nicked him.

Kuro clicks his tongue, stepping forward. “You’re hurt.”

“It doesn’t hurt. I'm fine.” Itsuki lifts a hand toward his face, falters, and then drops it. He gets to his feet, standing almost equal height to Kuro. “You didn’t need to help me.”

What’s all this about…? “Of course I did. Those guys were surrounding you.”

“And? I was handling it.”

“I promised to protect you,” Kuro reminds. 

“You _promised_ ,” Itsuki scoffs. “For such a promise, you’re making a poor job of sticking to it.”

That stings. Kuro takes a step back, distancing himself. 

Being reminded of how useless he is to help Itsuki hurts. He’d promised to protect Itsuki from bullies weeks ago, just for something like this to happen. Kuro isn’t able to be around his friend every single day--he knows this--but realizing his inability to keep all harm from Itsuki is a heavy weight. He tries, but it isn’t enough. For either of them.

But stopping isn’t an option. He wants to keep Itsuki safe--and if he can’t do it all the time, some of the time is the next best thing.

In the prolonged silence, Itsuki has resorted to staring at the torn piece of Mademoiselle’s dress now displaying her underclothes.

Kuro sighs, releasing equal parts regret and tension. He doesn’t feel like sticking around the park after something like this, so he’ll bring up something new. “I can fix her up. I think. If you want.”

“What?”

He nods at Mademoiselle. “The tear isn’t too big. My mother taught me how to sew a little… I could fix her dress, if we have everything at home.”

“You can fix Mademoiselle’s dress?”

“And clean up her face.” As he says that, Itsuki’s fingers hovers around the dark smudges ruining her pale skin. “It’s all at home, if you wanna come. If not--”

“I’ll go.” When Itsuki raises his head, he appears determined. “They’ll take Mademoiselle from me if they see her like this. If I go with you, you can help her. So take me to your house, Ryuu-kun.”

… Alright then.

Kuro nods along in agreement. Turning on his heel, he begins the walk back to his house with Itsuki and his doll in tow.

* * *

Kuro’s parents haven’t returned home yet, which is good and bad.

The good: with his parents gone, they have no reason to worry about adults noticing Itsuki’s scratched features and starting up a fuss. They’re free from any distraction, thus being able to fix up Mademoiselle’s dress quicker.

The bad: if Kuro messes up his attempt at sewing, thus angering his friend, then he doesn’t have his mother around to ask for her help. 

Considering his basic knowledge of sewing and lack of experience with needlework without supervision, Kuro hopes this doesn’t come back to bite him.

“Pardon the intrusion,” Itsuki mutters as he steps foot past the entrance door.

Kuro ushers them upstairs. He suggests Itsuki drop Mademoiselle off in his room--which he does, cautiously--before Kuro takes him to the restroom, intending to care for his scrapes and cuts.

Not long ago, Mom had sat him down in the bathroom to clean up his hands after yet another tussle with the neighborhood bullies. She’d calmly patted his reddened knuckles with a washcloth soaked in soapy cold water. His fingers stung, but her advice on cleaning cuts was important enough that he paid little attention to the pain.

Kuro makes sure to follow her advice now. Letting Itsuki sit on the bathroom stool, Kuro locates a unused cloth and prepares the cool water. He adds a bit of soap, enough to clear up infection, and returns to Itsuki.

Itsuki eyes the cloth suspiciously. “What is this for?”

“Cleaning your cuts,” Kuro answers. When he brings the cloth closer, Itsuki shies away. “What's wrong?”

“I'll do it,” Itsuki decides. “Hand it over.”

Kuro hands it over with little argument. If Itsuki wants to do it himself, he’s not going to force it.

When he’s done, the red scratches standing out against Itsuki’s pale skin have faded. All Kuro can see now are scrapes they can pass off as an injury gained by tripping on the sidewalk. Their parents will believe them… probably.

To top it off, Kuro searches around and returns beside Itsuki with a band-aid in hand. Itsuki takes the band-aid and applies it over the largest scratch he has.

“Looks good,” Kuro says, breaking into a smile. “One problem down, Icchan.”

Standing up, Itsuki clutches the wet cloth in his hand and starts toward the door. He looks grim. “We don't have all day. Let's start already.”

… Well, of course most of his worry would be on his doll. “Alright,” Kuro agrees as Itsuki exits the bathroom. “Go wait in my room. I need to get everything before we can start.”

First off, where does his mother keep her sewing equipment again…?

It takes a moment for Kuro to gather up the necessary materials. With everything gathered in his arms, he enters into his bedroom and kicks the door shut.

Itsuki is on the top of his futon, carefully holding Mademoiselle in his arms. He glances up at Kuro’s arrival and down at the junk in his arms. “Are you sure this'll work?”

“I'm pretty sure.” Reaching his bed, he collapses down onto it and drops the equipment off to the side. A roll of thread, a pair of scissors, a needle, and an emerald piece of cloth from his mother’s pile he believes is closest to Mademoiselle’s dress. To make sure he’s right, Kuro holds his hand out toward he doll. “Let me see her. I gotta check if it’s the right color.”

She’s passed over, although Itsuki frowns as he does so. Kuro notes the lack of dirt on her cheeks and chalks it up to the washcloth Itsuki had taken out of the bathroom, which is now folded up and resting on his study desk. He checks the two colors to find his cloth is several shades too dark. A close look at Mademoiselle could make it obvious it’s not from the same outfit.

He huffs a breath. Oh well. If Itsuki keeps her from prying eyes, it won’t be _too_ bad.

“What is it?” Itsuki leans in closer, his frown deepening. He casts a worried glace down to his doll. “Will it not work…?”

Shaking his head, Kuro settles Mademoiselle in his lap and works on disrobing her. “It’s fine. It’s close enough--no one will see a difference if we’re careful.”

“And if your work isn’t too obvious,” Itsuki adds.

That too, but Kuro hopes his mother’s lessons have stuck around.

“Alright.” Mademoiselle’s torn dress rests in his palm, leaving the doll in white pantaloons and a frilly shirt. Kuro judges the hole in her dress, finding it’s around the size of his palm--large, but nothing too bad. They have more than enough cloth to cover it. “... Hand me the scissors and cloth. I’m gonna get started.”

Itsuki does as asked, passing over what he needs, and Kuro gets to work.

The work is.... Difficult, yet doable. Remembering his mother's lessons, Kuro imitates her actions. He cuts a patch out of the green cloth he’d brought along with him. It’s in a rectangular shape and large enough to fit the missing part of the dress. He turns Mademoiselle’s dress inside-out and prepares the needle--cutting the thread with scissors, passing the thin thread through the needle’s hole, and then tying a tight knot.

Kuro passes the threaded needle between the new and old cloth, sticking them together, and time moves on.

“... Huh.” Kuro’s shoulders relax as he stares at his handiwork. The threading is messy, which isn’t too surprising. When he fixes Mademoiselle’s dress to see it properly, the spot he’s intended to fix is completely patched up. The dark green stands out among the rest of the dress, but they’re in luck--a lie or two can explain it. As long as no one checks the inside, Kuro believes they’ll be in the clear. “What do you think?”

With Kuro’s attention focused elsewhere, Itsuki had been left to cater to his own worries. He’s still sat on the futon, staring down at his hands in a pensive silence. His head shoots up in surprise at Kuro’s sudden question. In moments, he’s focusing on the dress held out toward him and taking it from his hand.

“You’ve finished?” Eyes wide, Itsuki examines the dress like he’s never seen it before. Flipping it front to back, inside and then out. “I can’t see anything from the outside… if you ignore the darker part, it looks the same as always!”

Warmth spreads throughout him as those words. So Itsuki thinks he’s done a good job--more than anything, that’s the best result.

“Let’s see what she looks like with it back on, at least,” he advises. Passing Mademoiselle back to her owner, Kuro allows him to do the honors.

Itsuki slips the dress back over Mademoiselle’s head with ease. He lifts her up and turns forward when finished, holding her outward as he eyes her tiny body in full.

Nervous, Kuro waits for his final call. Is it good? Is it bad? Should they try again, or should they give up altogether?

“... Ryuu-kun,” Itsuki utters after a while. He lowers Mademoiselle into his lap, keeping his face out of sight. “Thank you.”

All tension drains from his body.

So it’s fine, huh… Itsuki thinks it’s fine, so it is. There’s nothing to worry about then.

“It’s no problem, Icchan.” A soft laugh escapes him, releasing the last of his anxiety. “Glad I could help. It’s the least I could do.”

If Kuro isn’t able to protect Itsuki from the constant bullying, then he'll do the next best thing. He isn’t always around to put a stop to the fighting--but so long as he’s able to pick up the pieces and tries to make things better, Kuro will continue with his promise, no matter what.

That’s just what friends do.

  
  



End file.
